System, navigation method, medium, and information set

ABSTRACT

When traveling to a destination reported in a television broadcast or the like, the user has had to make a memo while watching the television and, when actually traveling by car, the user has had to enter necessary information into an in-vehicle terminal by looking at the memo. A broadcast provider broadcasts a travel program together with travel destination information related to it, and a television terminal presents the received broadcast and travel destination information to the user. If the user desires to travel to the destination thus presented, the television terminal downloads the received travel destination information into a memory card. When the user goes out by car at a later date, the in-vehicle information terminal acquires the travel destination information from the memory card, a route setting section sets the route by using travel destination location information contained in the travel destination information, and a communication section acquires real-time information by using a method of connection to a real-time information having the travel destination information.

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application of PCTInternational Application PCT/JP01/09751 which is hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a travel destination information systemthat produces a navigation display when the user travels by car, forexample, when going out for a trip or to dine at a restaurant, and alsorelates to a system, a navigation method, a medium, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, BS digital broadcasting using broadcasting satelliteshas been entering commercial service. In digital broadcasting, not onlyis program video transmitted, but tagged information is also broadcastedwhich is called data broadcasting. This information includes, forexample, real-time information such as news and weather forecasts,detailed information related to program content and advertisedmerchandise, and the URLs of their related Internet home pages.Furthermore, by connecting a television terminal to the broadcaster viaa telephone line, the user can respond to a quiz program, canparticipate in an opinion poll conducted in a program, or can transmitreal-time information on which program or which advertisement the useris watching.

A technology for transmitting the URLs of Internet home pages totelevision terminals in such data broadcasting is disclosed, forexample, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-164529. Thisprior art technology enables the television terminal to connect to theInternet by using the URL transmitted via digital broadcasting and tobring the desired home page onto the display for viewing. Furthermore,information related to the travel spot currently being broadcast ontelevision or radio, such as a spa, a theme park, or a restaurant thatoffers good-tasting food, can also be broadcast as a data broadcasttogether with video, and further detailed information. The detailedinformation may include the travel destination, reservation status,etc., which can be obtained by using the URL provided by the databroadcast.

On the other hand, a technology for providing various pieces of traveldestination information (route guidance, sightseeing information, etc.)to in-vehicle information terminals via the Internet is disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-215211. According tothis prior art technology, travel destination information is describedin XML (extensible Markup Language), an Internet description language,to perform various kinds of control such as the generation of a displayand voice guidance on the in-vehicle information terminal.

However, with the above prior art technologies, data received by atelevision terminal can only be used on that television terminal. Thatis, the home page offering the various kinds of travel destinationinformation, which is specified by the URL received by the televisionterminal via data broadcasting, can only be accessed from thattelevision terminal. As a result, when the user travels by car at alater date to the place reported in the broadcast, the user has to gothrough the following procedure if he wants to set the destination intothe in-vehicle information terminal or to access the home page offeringthe travel destination information from the in-vehicle informationterminal.

First, the user jots down the address, telephone number, map, URL, etc.of a travel destination broadcasted in the program on memo paper. Then,when traveling by car at a later date, the user, while looking at thehandwritten memo, sets the destination into the in-vehicle informationterminal or enters the URL of the travel destination information andaccesses the home page providing real-time information. In this way, theuser has had to go through the cumbersome procedure of entering thenecessary information into the in-vehicle information terminal bylooking at the handwritten memo. Furthermore, there has been the problemthat the user may fail to enter the destination information correctly,for example, because he had jotted down the wrong information or, if thememo is lost, the user has to rely on vague memory and, in the worstcase, has to abandon the plan to drive to that place.

In this way, when actually traveling by car, if the user wants to usenavigational information such as the travel destination informationobtained from a broadcast program, the user has to go to the trouble ofmanually re-entering the navigational information.

Furthermore, when actually traveling by car, if the user wants to usenavigational information such as the travel destination informationobtained from a broadcast program, there is the possibility that sincethe necessary information has to be re-entered manually, thenavigational information may be entered incorrectly, or the navigationalinformation itself may be lost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present inventionto provide a system that enables the user to use the navigationalinformation obtained from a broadcast program, without having go to thetrouble of re-entering it manually when the user actually goes out bycar; it is also an object of the invention to provide a navigationmethod, a medium, and a program.

Further, in view of the above problems, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a system that enables the user to use thenavigational information obtained from a broadcast program, withouthaving to re-enter it manually when the user actually goes out by car,and thus prevents the navigational information from being enteredincorrectly or lost; it is also an object of the invention to provide anavigation method, a medium, and a program.

To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention isa system comprising:

a first system which broadcasts navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/or theadvertisement;

a second system which receives said broadcast and transfers saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to aportable memory means for storing therein; and

a third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information stored in said portable memory means.

A second aspect of the present invention is a system which uses portableinformation processing means that stores at least navigationalinformation in an information storing means and acquires at least saidnavigational information from said information storing means, saidsystem comprising:

a first system which broadcasts navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/or theadvertisement;

a second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

a third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring via saidportable information processing means said navigational information thatsaid portable information processing means stored in said informationstoring means.

A third aspect of the present invention is a system which uses aportable information processing means that can store at leastnavigational information in an information storing means and can outputan address of said information storing means, said system comprising:

a first system which broadcasts navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/or theadvertisement;

a second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

a third system which acquires the address of said information storingmeans from said portable information processing means, and produces anavigation display by acquiring said navigational information byaccessing said information storing means based on said address.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a system comprising:

a first system which broadcasts navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/or theadvertisement;

a second system which receives said broadcast and presents said programand/or said advertisement to a user, and which, in response to a requestfrom said user, requests said first system to download said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement into aninformation storing means; and

a third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information that said first system downloaded into saidinformation storing means in response to the request from said secondsystem.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a first system whichbroadcasts navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, in addition to the program and/or the advertisement.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a first system as describedin the fifth aspect of the present invention, comprising an informationstoring means, which holds

at least either a first ID for identifying a second system that receivesa broadcast or a second ID for identifying a third system that displaysnavigation information; and said navigational information requested by auser.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is a first system as describedin the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein said first systemcomprises a means of having an external information storing means holdtherein: at least either a first ID for identifying a second system thatreceives a broadcast or a second ID for identifying a third system thatdisplays navigation information; and said navigational informationrequested by a user.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is a first system as describedin the fifth aspect of the present invention, comprising an informationstoring means, which holds:

information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying a thirdsystem that displays navigation information;

said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from a user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a first system as describedin the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein said first systemcomprises a means of having an external information storing means holdtherein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying a thirdsystem that displays navigation information;

said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from a user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a first system as describedin the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein said first systemcomprises a means of having an external information storing means holdtherein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying a thirdsystem that displays navigation information;

said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from a user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is a second system comprisinga means of receiving a broadcast from a first system broadcastingnavigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, in addition to the program and/or the advertisement, andof having a portable memory means store therein said navigationalinformation contained in said received broadcast.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a second systemcomprising a means of receiving a broadcast from a first systembroadcasting navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, in addition to the program and/or the advertisement, andof outputting said navigational information contained in said receivedbroadcast to a portable information processing means.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a second systemcomprising a means of receiving a broadcast from a first systembroadcasting navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, in addition to the program and/or the advertisement, andof presenting said program and/or said advertisement to a user and, inresponse to a request from said user, transferring said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement to aportable memory means for storing therein.

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a second systemcomprising a means of receiving a broadcast from a first systembroadcasting navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, in addition to the program and/or the advertisement, andof presenting said program and/or said advertisement to a user and, inresponse to a request from said user, outputting said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement to aportable information processing means.

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a second system asdescribed in any one of the twelfth to the fifteenth aspect of thepresent invention, wherein said first system includes an informationstoring means, and

said second system comprises a means of requesting, in response to arequest from a user, said first system to download said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement into saidinformation storing means.

A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is a second system asdescribed in any one of the twelfth to the fifteenth aspects of thepresent invention, comprising a means of requesting, in response to arequest from a user, said first system to download said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement into anexternal information storing means.

An eighteenth aspect of the present invention is a second system asdescribed in the sixteenth or the seventeenth aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein: atleast either a first ID for identifying said second system that receivesa broadcast or a second ID for identifying a third system that displaysnavigation information; and said navigational information requested bysaid user.

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a second system asdescribed in the sixteenth or the seventeenth aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system that displays navigation information;

said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from said user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A twentieth aspect of the present invention is a second system asdescribed in the sixteenth or the seventeenth aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system that displays navigation information;

said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from said user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A twenty-first aspect of the present invention is a third systemcomprising:

input means of acquiring navigational information in relation to aprogram and/or an advertisement stored in a portable storing means, and

display means of producing a navigation display based on saidnavigational information acquired from said input means.

A twenty-second aspect of the present invention is a third systemcomprising:

input means of acquiring navigational information in relation to aprogram and/or an advertisement from a portable storing means in whichsaid navigational information is stored, via a portable informationprocessing means which acquires at least said navigational information,and

display means of producing a navigation display based on saidnavigational information acquired from said input means.

A twenty-third aspect of the present invention is a third systemcomprising:

input means of acquiring an address of an information storing means inwhich navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement is stored, from a portable information processing meanswhere said address is held, and

display means of producing a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information by accessing said information storing meansbased on said address acquired from said input means.

A twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a third system asdescribed in the twenty-second or the twenty-third aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein: atleast either a first ID for identifying a second system that receives abroadcast or a second ID for identifying said third system that displaysnavigation information; and said navigational information requested by auser.

A twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention is a third system asdescribed in the twenty-second or the twenty-third aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying said thirdsystem that displays navigation information;

said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from a user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a third system asdescribed in the twenty-second or the twenty-third aspect of the presentinvention, wherein said information storing means holds therein:

information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying said thirdsystem that displays navigation information;

said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from a user; and

said navigational information requested by said user.

A twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention is a system asdescribed in any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth,and the eighteenth to the twenty-sixth aspects of the present invention,wherein said navigational information acquired by said third system isone that can be handled by software that said third system possesses.

A twenty-eight aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, and theeighteenth to the twenty-sixth aspects of the present invention, whereinsaid navigational information contains prescribed geographicalinformation, and

said third system makes a setting for route guidance by using locationinformation contained therein.

A twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, and theeighteenth to the twenty-sixth aspects of the present invention, whereinsaid third system is an in-vehicle information terminal.

A thirtieth aspect of the present invention is a system as described inany one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, and theeighteenth to the twenty-sixth aspects of the present invention, whereinsaid third system is a portable information terminal.

A thirty-first aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, and theeighteenth to the twenty-sixth aspects of the present invention, whereinsaid navigational information contains a prescribed Internet URL, and

said third system makes access based on said prescribed URL.

A thirty-second aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, thetwelfth to the twentieth, and the twenty-fourth to the twenty-sixthaspects of the present invention, wherein said second system includes abroadcast program storing means of storing said broadcasted programand/or advertisement and said navigational information, and

said second system transfers said navigational information stored insaid broadcast program storing means to said portable memory means forstoring therein.

A thirty-third aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, thetwelfth to the twentieth, and the twenty-fourth to the twenty-sixthaspects of the present invention, wherein said second system includes acommunication means of reporting viewing status of the user of saidsecond system, and

when said navigational information is stored in said portable memorymeans by said second system, said communication means notifies saidfirst system that said navigational information has been stored in saidportable memory means.

A thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the tenth and the twelfth to the seventeenthaspects of the present invention, wherein said first system usessatellite digital broadcasting.

A thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the tenth and the twelfth to the seventeenthaspects of the present invention, wherein said first system uses cabletelevision broadcasting and/or Internet television broadcasting.

A thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a system as describedin any one of the first to the tenth and the twelfth to the seventeenth,wherein said navigational information that said first system broadcastsis written in an Internet description language.

A thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention is a system asdescribed in any one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth,the sixth to the twentieth, and the twenty-second to the twenty-sixthaspects of the present invention, wherein said information storing meansis constructed from a data base which is referred to via the Internet.

A thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention is a navigation methodcomprising:

a broadcasting step of broadcasting navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

a broadcast receiving step of receiving said broadcast and transferringsaid navigational information contained in said received broadcast to aportable memory means for storing therein; and

an information receiving/transmitting step of producing a navigationdisplay by acquiring said navigational information stored in saidportable memory means.

A thirty-ninth aspect of the present invention is a navigation methodwhich uses portable information processing means for storing at leastnavigational information in an information storing means and can acquireat least said navigational information from said information storingmeans, said method comprising:

a broadcasting step of broadcasting navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

a broadcast receiving step of receiving said broadcast and outputtingsaid navigational information contained in said received broadcast tosaid portable information processing means; and

an information receiving/transmitting step of producing a navigationdisplay by acquiring via said portable information processing means saidnavigational information that said portable information processing meansstored in said information storing means.

A fortieth aspect of the present invention is a navigation method whichuses portable information processing means that stores at leastnavigational information in an information storing means and outputs anaddress of said information storing means, said method comprising:

a broadcasting step of broadcasting navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

a broadcast receiving step of receiving said broadcast and outputtingsaid navigational information contained in said received broadcast tosaid portable information processing means; and

an information receiving/transmitting step of acquiring the address ofsaid information storing means from said portable information processingmeans, and producing a navigation display by acquiring said navigationalinformation by accessing said information storing means based on saidaddress.

A forty-first aspect of the present invention is a navigation methodcomprising:

a broadcasting step of broadcasting navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

a broadcast receiving step of receiving said broadcast and presentingsaid program and/or said advertisement to a user and, in response to arequest from said user, requesting said broadcasting step to downloadsaid navigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into an information storing means; and

an information receiving/transmitting step of producing a navigationdisplay by acquiring said navigational information that saidbroadcasting step downloaded into said information storing means inresponse to the request from said broadcast receiving step.

A forty-second aspect of the present invention is a computer processablemedium holding thereon a program for causing a computer to function asall or part of the system described in the first aspect of the presentinvention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and transfers saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable memory means for storing therein; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information stored in said portable memory means.

A forty-third aspect of the present invention is a computer processablemedium holding thereon a program for causing a computer to function asall or part of the system described in the second aspect of the presentinvention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring viasaid portable information processing means said navigational informationthat said portable information processing means stored in saidinformation storing means.

A forty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer processablemedium holding thereon a program for causing a computer to function asall or part of the system described in the third aspect of the presentinvention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

the third system which acquires the address of said information storingmeans from said portable information processing means, and produces anavigation display by acquiring said navigational information byaccessing said information storing means based on said address.

A forty-fifth aspect of the present invention is a computer processablemedium holding thereon a program for causing a computer to function asall or part of the system described in the fourth aspect of the presentinvention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and presents saidprogram and/or said advertisement to a user, and which, in response to arequest from said user, requests said first system to download saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into said information storing means; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information that said first system downloaded into saidinformation storing means in response to the request from said secondsystem.

A forty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing acomputer to function as all or part of the system described in the firstaspect of the present invention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and transfers saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable memory means for storing therein; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information stored in said portable memory means.

A forty-seventh aspect of the present invention is a program for causinga computer to function as all or part of the system described in thesecond aspect of the present invention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring viasaid portable information processing means said navigational informationthat said portable information processing means stored in saidinformation storing means.

A forty-eighth aspect of the present invention is a program for causinga computer to function as all or part of the system described in thethird aspect of the present invention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

the third system which acquires the address of said information storingmeans from said portable information processing means, and produces anavigation display by acquiring said navigational information byaccessing said information storing means based on said address.

A forty-ninth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing acomputer to function as all or part of the system described in thefourth aspect of the present invention, said system comprising:

the first system which broadcasts navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, in addition to the program and/orthe advertisement;

the second system which receives said broadcast and presents saidprogram and/or said advertisement to a user, and which, in response to arequest from said user, requests said first system to download saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into said information storing means; and

the third system which produces a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information that said first system downloaded into saidinformation storing means in response to the request from said secondsystem.

A fiftieth aspect of the present invention is a system as described inany one of the first to the fourth, the sixth to the tenth, thesixteenth to the twentieth, and the twenty-second to the twenty-sixthaspects of the present invention, wherein said information storing meansis constructed from a data base which is referred to via a short-rangewireless communication means.

A fifty-first aspect of the present invention is a travel destinationinformation setting system comprising:

a broadcasting system which broadcasts navigational information inaddition to a program and/or an advertisement;

a receiving apparatus which receives said broadcast and transfers saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to aportable memory means for storing therein; and

an in-vehicle information terminal which produces a navigation displayby acquiring said navigational information stored in said portablememory means.

A fifth-second aspect of the present invention is a travel destinationinformation setting system which uses a portable information processingmeans that can store at least navigational information in an informationstoring means and can acquire at least said navigational informationfrom said information storing means, said system comprising:

a broadcasting system which broadcasts navigational information inaddition to a program and/or an advertisement;

a receiving apparatus which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

an in-vehicle information terminal which produces a navigation displayby acquiring via said portable information processing means saidnavigational information that said portable information processing meansstored in said information storing means.

A fifty-third aspect of the present invention is a travel destinationinformation setting system which uses a portable information processingmeans that can store at least navigational information in an informationstoring means and can output an address of said information storingmeans, said system comprising:

a broadcasting system which broadcasts navigational information inaddition to a program and/or an advertisement;

a receiving apparatus which receives said broadcast and outputs saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to saidportable information processing means; and

an in-vehicle information terminal which acquires the address of saidinformation storing means from said portable information processingmeans, and produces a navigation display by acquiring said navigationalinformation by accessing said information storing means based on saidaddress.

A fifty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a travel destinationinformation setting system comprising:

a broadcasting system which broadcasts navigational information inaddition to a program and/or an advertisement;

a receiving apparatus which receives said broadcast and presents saidprogram and/or said advertisement to a user, and which, in response to arequest from said user, requests said broadcasting system to downloadsaid navigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into an information storing means; and

an in-vehicle information terminal which produces a navigation displayby acquiring said navigational information that said broadcasting systemdownloaded into said information storing means in response to therequest from said receiving apparatus.

For example, a travel destination information setting system as oneexample of the present invention comprises: a program broadcasting meansof broadcasting, in addition to a travel destination program and anadvertisement, information concerning the travel destination; abroadcast receiving means of receiving the program, advertisement, andtravel destination information broadcasted by the program broadcastingmeans, and of presenting the received broadcast to a user; a portablememory means of downloading, at the user's request, the traveldestination information received by the broadcast receiving means; aninformation receiving/transmitting means of acquiring the traveldestination information downloaded into the portable memory means; and areal-time information providing means of providing real-time informationconcerning the travel destination, and wherein: the informationreceiving/transmitting means makes a route setting for route guidance byusing travel destination location information contained in the traveldestination information, and acquires the real-time informationconcerning the travel destination by using a method of connection to thereal-time information providing means carried in the travel destinationinformation.

Further, a travel destination information setting system as one exampleof the present invention comprises: a program broadcasting means ofbroadcasting, in addition to a travel destination program and anadvertisement, information concerning the travel destination; abroadcast receiving means of receiving the program, advertisement, andtravel destination information broadcasted by the program broadcastingmeans, and of presenting the received broadcast to a user; aninformation storing means of storing the travel destination information;a portable information processing means of holding therein a method ofconnection to the information storing means, and of performing controlto download the travel destination information into the informationstoring means at the user's request; an informationreceiving/transmitting means of acquiring via the portable informationprocessing means the travel destination information downloaded into theinformation storing means; and a real-time information providing meansof providing real-time information concerning the travel destination,and wherein: the information receiving/transmitting means makes a routesetting for route guidance by using travel destination locationinformation contained in the travel destination information, andacquires the real-time information concerning the travel destination byusing the method of connection to the real-time information providingmeans carried in the travel destination information.

Furthermore, a travel destination information setting system as oneexample of the present invention comprises: an information storing meansof storing travel destination information; a program broadcasting meansof broadcasting a travel destination program and an advertisement, andof performing control so as to download the travel destinationinformation into the information storing means; a broadcast receivingmeans of receiving the program and advertisement broadcasted by theprogram broadcasting means, and of presenting the received broadcast toa user and, at the user's request, requesting the program broadcastingmeans to download the travel destination information related to theprogram or advertisement into the information storing means; and aninformation receiving/transmitting means of acquiring the traveldestination information downloaded into the information storing means,and wherein: the information receiving/transmitting means makes a routesetting for route guidance by using travel destination locationinformation contained in the travel destination information, andacquires real-time information concerning the travel destination byusing a method of connection to a real-time information providing meanscarried in the travel destination information.

In this way, according to the present invention, since the traveldestination information is downloaded as electronic data, the traveldestination information can be set into the in-vehicle informationterminal without the user having to make a memo of the traveldestination information broadcasted in a program. Further, since theinvention includes information storing means, and the travel destinationinformation is acquired by connecting to the information storing means,the travel destination information can be prevented from being lostsomewhere.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a travel destinationinformation setting system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one example of a data broadcast scriptdescribing travel destination information according to the embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one example of a television terminal screendisplaying a travel destination related program and travel destinationinformation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one example of a travel destination datascript to be set into an in-vehicle information terminal according tothe embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one example of the initial screen display ofthe in-vehicle information terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of a screen displaying a list oftravel destination information stored on a memory card according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing one example of the in-vehicle informationterminal screen displaying the travel destination information accordingto the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one example of a screen displaying real-timetravel destination information according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing one example of an order input screenaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of an order confirmation screenaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing one example of a data script for displayingreal-time information according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing one example of a data script for displayingorder information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a travel destinationinformation setting system according to second and third embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of a travel destinationinformation setting system according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the detailed structure of a table section1402 shown in FIG. 14.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   101. BROADCAST PROVIDER-   103. TRANSMITTING SECTION OF BROADCAST PROVIDER 101-   104. TELEVISION TERMINAL-   105. RECEIVING SECTION OF TELEVISION TERMINAL 104-   107. CARD SLOT SECTION OF TELEVISION TERMINAL 104-   113. MEMORY CARD-   114. IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL-   116. COMMUNICATION SECTION OF IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL 114-   117. ROUTE SETTING SECTION OF IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL 114-   118. CARD SLOT SECTION OF IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL 114-   122. REAL-TIME INFORMATION PROVIDER-   1301. INFORMATION STORING SECTION-   1302. PORTABLE TERMINAL-   1303. COMMUNICATION SECTION OF PORTABLE TERMINAL-   1401. COMMUNICATION CONTROL SECTION OF BROADCAST PROVIDER-   1402. TABLE SECTION OF BROADCAST PROVIDER-   1403. TELEVISION TERMINAL ID STORING SECTION OF TELEVISION TERMINAL    104-   1404. IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL ID STORING SECTION OF    IN-VEHICLE INFORMATION TERMINAL 114

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

First, a description will be given of a travel destination informationsetting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the travel destinationinformation setting system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. In the figure, reference numeral 101 is a broadcastprovider which broadcasts travel programs and travel-relatedadvertisements, 102 is a viewer information acquiring section whichacquires user's viewing status, and 103 is a transmitting section fortransmitting programs and data broadcasts.

Further, in the figure, reference numeral 104 is a television terminalprimarily designed for use in a home, 105 is a receiving section forreceiving broadcasts, 106 is a modem for transmitting the user's viewingstatus to the broadcast provider 101 via a telephone line, 107 is a cardslot section which controls data input and output to and from a memorycard, 108 is a television remote controller for the user to operate thetelevision terminal 104, 109 is a remote control receiving section forreceiving signals from the television remote controller 108, 110 is adisplay section which displays television programs for viewing by theuser, 111 is an overall control section which controls the overalloperation of the television terminal 104, and 112 is an HDD for storingand recording program information.

Further, in the figure, reference numeral 113 is a memory card to whichtravel destination information acquired by the television terminal 104is downloaded, 114 is an in-vehicle information terminal primarilydesigned for used in a vehicle and used for vehicle route guidance (carnavigation) and for accessing the Internet, 115 is an in-vehicleterminal remote controller for the user to operate the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114, 116 is a communication section which controlsaccess to the Internet, 117 is a route setting section which setsnavigation information for the vehicle, 118 is a card slot section whichcontrols data input and output to and from the memory card 113, 119 is aremote control receiving section for receiving signals from thein-vehicle terminal remote controller 115, 120 is a display sectionwhich presents information to the user, 121 is an overall controlsection which controls the overall operation of the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114, and 122 is a real-time information providerwhich provides real-time travel destination information to thein-vehicle information terminal 114 via the Internet.

In the figure, one broadcast provider 101 and one information serviceprovider 122 are shown, but it will be appreciated that a plurality ofsuch providers may be included.

FIG. 2 shows one example of a data broadcast script used when thebroadcast provider 101 broadcasts a travel program or travel-relatedadvertisement. In this embodiment, XML (extensible Markup Language), anInternet description language, is employed as the data broadcast format.In the data broadcast script of FIG. 2, characters enclosed by < >, suchas <title> and <information>, are called tags, of which those that donot begin with </ are defined as starting tags, and those that beginwith </ as ending tags. Between the starting and ending tags, anothertag set can be nested, and information concerning each tag can bedescribed. In XML, each tag defines an attribute, and the overallcontrol sections in the television terminal 104 and the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114 respectively execute the processing operationdefined by each tag by referring to a style sheet that is transmitted asa separate file. In the description of the embodiments of the presentinvention, the style sheet will not be shown, and only the processingoperation of the system will be described. It will, however, be notedthat the purpose here is to execute the desired processing operations,and the script description format is not limited to the illustrated one.The tags in the data broadcast script of FIG. 2 will be explained below.

a) Root tag

1) <naviprogram>

Indicates that the description carried here is a data broadcast whichcontains information that can be set into the in-vehicle informationterminal.

A tag set of <tvurl>, <displaydata>, and <navidata> can be nested underthis tag.

b) Tags under <naviprogram>

1) <tvurl>

Indicates the URL for transmitting the user's viewing status to thebroadcast provider 101.

2) <displaydata>

Indicates data to be displayed on the television terminal. A tag set of<title>, <information>, and <comment> can be nested under this tag.

3) <navidata>

Indicates data to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal.Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

c) Tags under <displaydata>

1) <title>

Indicates the title of the data to be displayed on the televisionterminal.

2) <information>

Indicates the travel destination information to be displayed on thetelevision terminal. A tag set consisting at least of <address>, <tel>,<fax>, <url>, <email>, and <opentime> can be nested under this tag.

3) <comment>

Indicates the comment to be displayed on the television terminal.

d) Tags under <information>

1) <address>

Indicates address.

2) <tel>

Indicates telephone number.

3) <fax>

Indicates fax number.

4) <url>

Indicates home page address (URL).

4) <email>

Indicates e-mail address.

5) <opentime>

Indicates business hours.

6) <holiday>

Indicates regular holiday.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen produced when the data broadcastscript shown in FIG. 2 is presented for display on the display section110 of the television terminal 104.

FIG. 4 shows the script for <navidata> shown in FIG. 2, which definesthe data to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal. In thefirst embodiment, this data is transferred from the television terminal104 to the in-vehicle information terminal 114 via the memory card 113.The tags shown in FIG. 4 will be explained below.

a) Root tag

1) <navidata>

Indicates that the description carried here is the data to be set intothe in-vehicle information terminal.

A tag set of <title>, <url>, <point>, and <information> can be nestedunder this tag.

2) <title>

Indicates the title used to refer to this script on the in-vehicleinformation terminal.

3) <url>

Indicates the URL used to access real-time information concerning thetravel destination.

4) <point>

Indicates the location of the travel destination. A tag set of<latitude> and <longitude> can be nested under this tag.

5) <information>

Indicates the information to be displayed on the in-vehicle informationterminal. A tag such as <restaurant> indicating the category of thetravel destination information can be nested under this tag.

b) Tags under <point>

1) <latitude>

Indicates the latitude of the travel destination.

2) <longitude>

Indicates the longitude of the travel destination.

c) Tag under <information>

1) <restaurant>

Indicates that the information to be displayed on the in-vehicleinformation terminal is restaurant-related information. A tag setconsisting as least of <name>, <address>, <tel>, <email>, <opentime>,<holiday>, and <menu> can be nested under this tag.

d) Tags under <restaurant>

1) <menu>

Indicates the menu that the restaurant offers. A tag set of <submenu>can be nested under this tag.

The tags <name>, <address>, <tel>, <email>, <opentime>, and <holiday>are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 2, and will notbe described in detail here.

e) Tag under <menu>

1) <submenu>

Indicates individual menu items. Tags consisting at least of <name>,<price>, <photo>, and <comment> can be nested under this tag.

f) Tags under <submenu>

1) <name>

Indicates the name of the menu item.

2) <price>

Indicates the price of the menu item.

3) <photo>

Indicates the photo of the menu item.

4) <comment>

Indicates a comment concerning the menu item.

FIGS. 6 and 7 each show an example of a screen produced when the datascript of FIG. 4 set into the in-vehicle information terminal ispresented for display on the display section 120 of the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114. FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen displayinga list of travel destination information downloaded to the memory card113, and corresponds to <title> in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 shows a screendisplaying the contents of <information> in FIG. 4; in this example, thecontents are displayed in the format of restaurant information.

FIG. 11 shows one example of a data script used when the real-timeinformation provider 122 in FIG. 1 sends real-time information to thein-vehicle information terminal 114. FIG. 12 shows one example of thedetailed script for the <order> tag in FIG. 11. The tags in FIG. 11 willbe explained below.

a) Root tag

1) <realtimenavidata>

Indicates that the description carried here is real-time information forin-vehicle information terminals. A tag set of <updatetime> and<information> can be nested under this tag.

b) Tags under <realtimenavidata>

1) <updatetime>

Indicates the last updated date and time of the real-time information.

2) <information>

Indicates the real-time information to be displayed on the in-vehicleinformation terminal. A tag set such as <restaurant> indicating thecategory of the travel destination information can be nested under thistag.

c) Tag under <information>

1) <restaurant>

Indicates that the information to be displayed on the in-vehicleinformation terminal is restaurant-related information. A tag setconsisting at least of <name>, <situation>, and <order> can be nestedunder this tag.

d) Tags under <restaurant>

1) <situation>

Indicates the current situation. A tag set of <photo> and <comment> canbe nested under this tag.

2) <order>

Indicates order information. Details will be described later withreference to FIG. 12.

The tags <name>, <photo>, and <comment> are the same as those describedpreviously, and will not be described in detail here. FIG. 8 shows anexample of a screen produced when the data script for the real-timeinformation shown in FIG. 11 is presented for display on the displaysection 120 of the in-vehicle information terminal 114. The tags in FIG.12 will be explained below.

a) Root tag

1) <order>

Indicates order information. A tag <menu> can be nested under this tag.

b) Tag under <order>

1) <menu>

Indicates menu items that can be ordered. A tag <submenu> can be nestedunder this tag.

c) Tags under <submenu>

1) <amount>

Indicates quantity. When the real-time information provider 122 sendsthe information, an initial value of 0 is set here, and when the userplaces an order, the value is set according to the quantity ordered.

2) <option>

Indicates menu options. A tag set consisting at least of <type> and<menu> can be nested under this tag.

The tags <name>, <price>, and <photo> are the same as those describedpreviously, and will not be described in detail here. The tags under<option> are the same as those already described. FIGS. 9 and 10 eachshow an example of a screen produced when the data script for the orderinformation is presented for display on the display section 120 of thein-vehicle information terminal 114.

The operation of the thus configured travel destination informationsetting system according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12.

First, the point of the first embodiment will be described. The travelprogram and the data related to the travel destination information,broadcast from the broadcast provider 101, are received by thetelevision terminal 104 and displayed on the display section 110. Whilewatching the program, the user downloads the travel destinationinformation to the memory card 113 as needed by operating the televisionremote controller 108. When actually going out by car, the usertransfers the travel destination information from the memory card 113into the in-vehicle information terminal 114 and, using thisinformation, the user sets the destination for vehicle route guidance,and accesses the Internet to acquire real-time travel destinationinformation, make a reservation, etc.

First, the operation up to the time that the user, while watching thetelevision program, downloads the travel destination information to thememory card 113 will be described.

The broadcast provider 101 transmits via the transmitting section 103the travel program and the data broadcast of the travel destinationinformation related to the program. FIG. 2 shows one example of the databroadcast script for the travel destination information. Next, thereceiving section 105 of the television terminal 104 receives theprogram broadcast and the data broadcast, and passes the receivedinformation to the overall control section 111. The overall controlsection 111 processes the received information, and displays the programvideo and the data broadcast information on the display section 110.FIG. 3 shows one example of the screen produced on the display section110. The overall control section 111 displays the program video in thearea indicated at 305 in the figure, and displays the data broadcast inthe areas indicated at 301 to 304 by decoding the data broadcast script.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a procedure of how the overall controlsection 111 decodes the data broadcast script will be described below.First, the overall control section 111 reads the description in <title>under the <displaydata> tag in the data broadcast script and displays itin the area 301 in FIG. 3, and reads the description below <information>under <displaydata> and displays it in the area 302.

Here, the contents are displayed by attaching titles such as “address”according to the attributes of the tags (<address>, etc.) under<information>. Further, the overall control section 111 reads thedescription in each tag <subcomment> under <comment> and displays it inthe area 303 in FIG. 3, and since the data broadcast script of FIG. 2 is<naviprogram>, the overall control section 111 also displays a menu 304allowing the user to select whether the travel information should be setinto the in-vehicle information terminal.

Here, if the user viewing the program video is interested in the traveldestination being broadcast, and desires to visit the place if he has achance some day, the user selects the menu 304 by operating thetelevision remote controller 108. Upon receiving this information, theremote control receiving section 109 notifies the overall controlsection 111 that the travel destination information should be set intothe in-vehicle information terminal 114.

In response, the overall control section 111 performs the followingprocessing. First, the data broadcast script under <navidata> isextracted from the data broadcast script shown in FIG. 2 and is sent tothe card slot section 107, and is instructed to be downloaded the scriptto the memory card 113. The card slot section 107 downloads the scriptto the memory card 113. FIG. 4 shows one example of the thus downloaded<navidata> script.

At the same time, the overall control section 111 notifies the broadcastprovider 101 that the user has downloaded the travel destinationinformation. More specifically, the overall control section 111 readsthe URL (<tvurl>) of the broadcast provider from the data broadcastscript of FIG. 2, and accesses the viewer information acquiring section102 via the modem 106 and sends information to the effect that the userhas performed a download.

Using this information, the broadcast provider 101 can gather statisticson downloads, and if the travel destination information is anadvertisement broadcast, the gathered information can be used to chargethe sponsor for the advertisement. Gathering statistical informationoffers an enormous effect since it can be used, for example, for futuremarketing strategies.

It is desirable that the user insert the memory card 113 in the cardslot section 107 before performing the download, but provisions may bemade so that the card slot section 107, upon receiving the downloadinstruction from the overall control section 111, checks whether thememory card 113 is inserted or not and, if not inserted, notifies theoverall control section 111 accordingly which then issues an alarm viathe display section 110 prompting the user to insert the memory card.

Next, a description will be given of the operation when the user who isgoing out by car transfers the travel destination information from thememory card 113 into the in-vehicle information terminal 114 and, usingthis information, sets the destination for vehicle route guidance andaccesses the Internet to acquire real-time travel destinationinformation, make a reservation, etc.

The user inserts the memory card 113 with the data broadcast scriptdownloaded thereto into the card slot section 118 of the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114, and turns on power (not shown) to thein-vehicle information terminal 114 which, under instruction from theoverall control section 121, displays the initial screen on the displaysection 120. FIG. 5 shows one example of the initial screen.

Next, while viewing the screen such as shown in the figure, the useroperates the in-vehicle terminal remote controller 115 and selects amemory card menu 501 from the travel destination setting menu. Thein-vehicle terminal remote controller 115 transmits this information tothe remote control receiving section 119 which then notifies the overallcontrol section 121.

The overall control section 121 reads, via the card slot section 118,the <title> tag from each travel destination information <navidata>downloaded to the memory card 113, and displays it on the displaysection 120. FIG. 6 shows one example of the screen displaying the listof travel destination information downloaded to the memory card 113.While viewing the screen thus displayed, the user selects the desiredtravel destination information 601 by operating the in-vehicle terminalremote controller 115. At this time, information concerning thisselection is sent from the in-vehicle terminal remote controller 115 tothe overall control section 121 via the remote control receiving section115, as previously described.

The overall control section 121 reads the contents below the<information> tag under <navidata> shown in FIG. 4, and displays them onthe display section 120 in the following procedure. FIG. 7 shows oneexample of the screen which is displayed in the format of restaurantinformation.

First, the overall control section 121 reads the <restaurant> tag,identifies that the category of the travel destination information is“restaurant”, and selects the predefined restaurant information displayformat (not shown). The overall control section 121 then reads the<name> tag under <restaurant>, and displays the contents in the area 701in FIG. 7. Next, the overall control section 121 reads the tags<address>, <tel>, <email>, <opentime>, and <holiday> and displays thecontents in the area 702 in FIG. 7. Further, the overall control section121 reads each <submenu> tag under <menu>, and displays the contents inthe area 703 in FIG. 7. Here, the menu items are displayed in ahorizontal row together with their associated photos; if the number ofmenu items is too large to fit on the screen, the remaining menu itemsare displayed on the subsequent page(s). Here, the user can bring thenext page onto the screen by selecting the “NEXT PAGE” menu in FIG. 7 byoperating the in-vehicle terminal remote controller 115.

The user re-checks the travel destination information displayed on thescreen of FIG. 7 and, if the user decides to set it as the destination,the user selects the destination setting menu 704 by operating thein-vehicle terminal remote controller 115.

Finally, the overall control section 121 sets the destination and theroute to the destination on the in-vehicle information terminal, andacquires real-time information concerning the travel destination. Thedetails are as follows. First, the overall control section 121 acquiresthe location of the travel destination by reading below the <point> tagin the data script of FIG. 4. The acquired location is sent to the routesetting section 117, which then sets the destination and the route tothe destination for car navigation. The route setting section 117 doesthis by using a known method employed for car navigation.

Next, the overall control section 121 reads the <url> tag in FIG. 4 toacquire the URL necessary to access the real-time travel destinationinformation, and passes the URL to the communication section 116. Thecommunication section 116 accesses the Internet, acquires the datascript for the real-time travel destination information from thereal-time information provider 122, and passes the acquired data scriptto the overall control section 121.

FIG. 11 shows one example of the data script for displaying thereal-time information. FIG. 12 shows the detailed script under the<order> tag in FIG. 11. The overall control section 121 reads thisreal-time information data script, and presents it for display on thedisplay section 120. Examples of the screen display are shown in FIGS. 8to 10. The overall control section 121 reads the data script in sequenceand presents the contents for display on the display section 120 inexactly the same way that it displays the travel destination informationdata script earlier described; therefore, the following descriptiondeals only with the correspondence between the data scripts of FIGS. 11and 12 and the screen display examples of FIGS. 8 to 10.

The <updatetime> tag in FIG. 11 corresponds to the current statusdisplay at 801 in FIG. 8, <name> corresponds to the title display at802, and the <photo> tag under <situation> corresponds to the photo at803; likewise, <comment> corresponds to the comment at 804, and thepresence of the <order> tag corresponds to the “TO THE ORDER SCREEN”menu 805. Further, <name> and <price> under the <order> tag in FIG. 12correspond to the menu item 902 in FIG. 9, <photo> corresponds to thephoto 903, and <type> under <option> and <name> under <submenu>correspond to 904 and 905, respectively.

While viewing the screen of FIG. 8, the user operates the in-vehicleterminal remote controller, checks the real-time information concerningthe travel destination, and if necessary, can reserve a menu item. Whenreserving a menu item, the user selects the “TO THE ORDER SCREEN” menu805 in FIG. 8 using the in-vehicle terminal remote controller 115, andmakes an order by selecting the desired menu item on the order inputscreen of FIG. 9. In the present embodiment, the user is prompted toselect the “TO THE ORDER CONFIRMATION” menu 901 in FIG. 9 and confirmthe order on the order confirmation screen of FIG. 10.

When the user selects the “ORDER” menu 1001 using the in-vehicleterminal remote controller 115, the overall control section 121 createsa data script for the order information, and sends it to the real-timeinformation provider 122 via the communication section 116. Creation ofthis data script can be accomplished by rewriting the <amount> tag inthe order information data scrip of FIG. 12 to reflect the quantityordered by the user.

The first embodiment of the invention described above has assumed thatthe broadcast provider 101 broadcasts programs via radio waves, but themeans of broadcast transmission is not limited to any particular media;for example, CATV or other wired cable medium such as optical fiber maybe used. Further, in this case, the user's viewing information can betransmitted to the broadcast provider 101 by using the same wired cable.

The first embodiment of the invention described above has also assumedthat the in-vehicle information terminal 114 accesses the Internet byusing a wireless communication, but any other means may be used; forexample, a wireless communication and a leased line may be used insteadof using the Internet.

In the first embodiment of the invention, the instruction to downloadthe information to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal 114is issued while the user is watching a program broadcast on thetelevision terminal 104, but instead, the television terminal 104 maytemporarily store the program broadcast and the data broadcast on theHDD 112, and the download instruction may be issued when the userwatches the stored broadcast. Though not described in detail here, thiscan be accomplished in exactly the same manner by the overall controlsection 111 just switching between the broadcast sent from the receivingsection 105 and the broadcast sent from the HDD 112.

Further, as earlier described, the data broadcast script to be broadcastfrom the broadcast provider 101 is structured such that the data scriptthat can be handled by the in-vehicle information terminal 114 isembedded in the data script that can be handled by the televisionterminal 104, as shown in FIG. 2. Since only the script that can behandled by the in-vehicle information terminal 114 is extracted from thedata broadcast script acquired by the television terminal 104 and istransferred to the in-vehicle information terminal 114 via the memorycard 113, the in-vehicle information terminal 114 can receive only thedata script that can be handled by it. In this way, despite the factthat the data script format that can be handled differs between thetelevision terminal 104 and the in-vehicle information terminal 114, thedata script that can be handled by the in-vehicle information terminal114 can be easily transferred from the television terminal 104 to thein-vehicle information terminal 114 via the memory card 113. In thepresent embodiment, XML has been used as the programming language, buteven if the programming language used differs between the televisionterminal 104 and the in-vehicle information terminal 114, the data canlikewise be transferred from one to the other.

As described above, according to the travel destination informationsetting system in the first embodiment of the present invention, sincethe travel destination information is acquired from the broadcastedtravel program and set into the in-vehicle information terminal, settingof the destination, acquisition of real-time information, and making ofa reservation can be accomplished without performing cumbersomeoperations. This offers an enormous practical advantage.

Embodiment 2

A travel destination information setting system according to a secondembodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to drawings. In the second embodiment, the travel destinationinformation to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal is storedin a data base, not on a memory card as in the first embodiment, andaccess to the data base is made via a portable terminal such as aportable telephone or a PDA. The user, therefore, need only carry theportable terminal he usually carries with him, and this can avoid theproblem of the user forgetting the card.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of the travel destinationinformation setting system according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1301 is aninformation storing section for storing the travel destinationinformation to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal, 1302 isa portable terminal, such as a portable telephone, a PDA, or a wearablecomputer, that the user usually carries with him, 1303 is acommunication section which controls the Internet communication of theportable terminal 1302, 1304 is an address storing section which holdsthe URL of the information storing section 1301, 1305 is a controlsection which controls the overall operation of the portable terminal1302, 1306 is a portable terminal connecting section in the televisionterminal 104, and 1307 is a portable terminal connecting section in thein-vehicle information terminal 114. Otherwise, the configuration is thesame as that of the first embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1,and therefore, will not be described in detail here.

The operation of the thus configured travel destination informationsetting system according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 13.

To facilitate the explanation, the following description deals only withdifferences from the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodimentof the invention, the travel destination information to be set into thein-vehicle information terminal 114 is downloaded to the memory card 113from the data broadcast script provided by the broadcast provider 101;by contrast, in the second embodiment of the invention, the informationis downloaded to the information storing section 1301 on the Internet byusing the Internet communication function of the portable terminal 1302.

First, the user connects the portable terminal 1302 to the portableterminal connecting section 1306. When the user decides to download thetravel destination information currently being broadcasted, the overallcontrol section 111 instructs the portable terminal connecting section1306 to download the data script shown in FIG. 4. The portable terminalconnecting section 1306 notifies the control section 1305 of theportable terminal 1302 that the data script will be downloaded.

The control section 1305 passes the data script to the communicationsection 1303 together with the URL of the information storing section1301 stored in the address storing section 1304, and instructs thecommunication section 1303 to access the Internet. The communicationsection 1303 accesses the Internet by using the URL, and stores the datascript in the information storing section 1301.

Next, when actually going out by car, the user connects the portableterminal 1302 to the portable terminal connecting section 1307. When theuser needs the data script previously stored in the information storingsection 1301, the portable terminal connecting section 1307, underinstruction from the overall control section 121, acquires the datascript from the information storing section 1301 on the Internet via theportable terminal 1302.

The portable terminal connecting section 1307 passes the thus acquireddata script to the overall control section 121. The details of theoperation that the portable terminal 1302 performs to access theInternet is exactly the same as the method of downloading describedabove.

Other operations of the travel destination information setting systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention are exactlythe same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, will not befurther described here.

The above description has assumed the use of a portable telephone, aPDA, or a wearable computer as the portable terminal 1302, but aportable terminal of other type can also be used as long as it is thetype of information terminal that the user usually carries with him.Further, the information storing section 1301 has been described asbeing accessed via the Internet from the portable terminal 1302, butalternatively, the information storing section 1301 may be constructedfrom a home-use information storage device such as a home server, andaccess to the information storage device may be made via other meansthan the Internet, for example, via a short-range wireless communicationmeans. This, however, requires that the information storage device beinstalled at a location accessible from the usual location of thein-vehicle information terminal 114, for example, the parking lot at ornear the user's home. Further, the information storing section 1301 maybe installed at other locations than that described above; for example,it may be installed within the broadcast provider 101 or the televisionterminal 104, or may be incorporated in the in-vehicle informationterminal 114.

In the first embodiment of the invention, the instruction to downloadthe information to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal 114is issued while the user is watching a program broadcast on thetelevision terminal 104, but instead, the television terminal 104 maytemporarily store the program broadcast and the data broadcast on theHDD 112, and the download instruction may be issued when the userwatches the stored broadcast. Though not described in detail here, thiscan be accomplished in exactly the same manner by the overall controlsection 111 just switching between the broadcast sent from the receivingsection 105 and the broadcast sent from the HDD 112.

As described above, according to the travel destination informationsetting system in the second embodiment of the present invention, sincethe travel destination information is acquired from the broadcastedtravel program and set into the in-vehicle information terminal, settingof the destination, acquisition of real-time information, and making ofa reservation can be accomplished without performing cumbersomeoperations. Further, since the user need only carry the portableterminal he usually carries with him, the problem of the user forgettingthe card can also be avoided. This offers an enormous practicaladvantage.

Embodiment 3

A travel destination information setting system according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to drawings. In the third embodiment, the travel destinationinformation to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal is storedin a data base, not on a memory card as in the first embodiment, and thein-vehicle information terminal accesses the data base by acquiring theaddress of the data base from a portable terminal such as a portabletelephone or a PDA. Therefore, as in the second embodiment, since theuser need to only carry the portable terminal he usually carries withhim, the problem of the user forgetting the card can be avoided.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of the travel destinationinformation setting system according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, the configuration of the travel destinationinformation setting system according to the third embodiment of theinvention is the same as that of the second embodiment, and therefore,will not be described in detail here.

The operation of the thus configured travel destination informationsetting system according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 13.

To facilitate the explanation, the following description focuses ondifferences from the first and second embodiments. That is, in the thirdembodiment, as in the second embodiment, the travel destinationinformation is downloaded to the information storing section 1301 on theInternet by using the Internet communication function of the portableterminal 1302, but the difference from the second embodiment is that thein-vehicle information terminal 114 itself downloads the traveldestination information from the information storing section 1301.

First, the user connects the portable terminal 1302 to the portableterminal connecting section 1306. When the user decides to download thetravel destination information currently being broadcasted, the overallcontrol section 111 instructs the portable terminal connecting section1306 to download the data script shown in FIG. 4. The portable terminalconnecting section 1306 notifies the control section 1305 of theportable terminal 1302 that the data script will be downloaded.

The control section 1305 passes the data script to the communicationsection 1303 together with the URL of the information storing section1301 stored in the address storing section 1304, and instructs thecommunication section 1303 to access the Internet. The communicationsection 1303 accesses the Internet by using the URL, and stores the datascript in the information storing section 1301.

Next, when actually going out by car, the user connects the portableterminal 1302 to the portable terminal connecting section 1307. When theuser needs the data script previously stored in the information storingsection 1301, the portable terminal connecting section 1307, underinstruction from the overall control section 121, requests the URL ofthe information storing section 1301 from the portable terminal 1302. Inaccordance with this request, the control section 1305 of the portableterminal 1302 reads the URL of the information storing section 1301 fromthe address storing section 1304, and transfers the thus readout URL tothe portable terminal connecting section 1307.

The portable terminal connecting section 1307 transfers the URL of theinformation storing section 1301, input from the portable terminal 1302,to the overall control section 121, and the overall control section 121then passes the URL to the communication section 116 and instructs it toacquire the data script from the information storing section 1301. Inresponse, the communication section 116 accesses the Internet, downloadsfrom the information storing section 1301 the data script specified bythe URL input from the overall control section 121, and passes thedownloaded script to the control section 121.

Other operations of the travel destination information setting systemaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention are exactlythe same as those of the first embodiment and, therefore, will not befurther described here.

As described above, according to the travel destination informationsetting system in the third embodiment of the present invention, sincethe travel destination information is acquired from the broadcastedtravel program and set into the in-vehicle information terminal, settingof the destination, acquisition of real-time information, and making ofa reservation can be accomplished without performing cumbersomeoperations. Further, since the user need only carry the portableterminal he usually carries with him, the problem of the user forgettingthe card can also be avoided. This offers an enormous practicaladvantage.

Embodiment 4

A travel destination information setting system according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to drawings. In the fourth embodiment, the travel destinationinformation to be set into the in-vehicle information terminal is nottransmitted by data broadcasting from the broadcast provider to thetelevision terminal, but the broadcast provider stores the informationdirectly in a data base by responding to a request from the user, andwhen the user actually goes out by car, the in-vehicle informationterminal accesses the data base and downloads the travel destinationinformation. Accordingly, the travel destination information can be setquite naturally into the in-vehicle information terminal without theuser being aware of the downloading of the travel destinationinformation.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of the travel destinationinformation setting system according to the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1401 is acommunication control section which performs communication control foraccessing the information storing section 1301, 1402 is a table sectionwhich holds information that the broadcast provider 101 uses to accessthe information storing section 1301, 1403 is a television terminal IDstoring section which holds an ID for identifying the televisionterminal 104, and 1404 is an in-vehicle information terminal ID storingsection which holds an ID for identifying the in-vehicle informationterminal and the URL of the information storing section 1301. Otherwise,the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG. 1 and that of the second embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG. 13, and will not be described in detail here.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the structure of the table section 1402. Inthe figure, reference numeral 1501 is a TV terminal ID holding sectionfor holding TV terminal IDs, and 1502 is an in-vehicle informationterminal ID holding section for holding in-vehicle information terminalIDs; that is, this table shows the correspondence between each TVterminal ID and each in-vehicle information terminal ID. Further,reference numeral 1503 is a URL holding section for holding the URL ofthe information storing section 1301.

The operation of the thus configured travel destination informationsetting system according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. Tofacilitate the explanation, the following description deals only withdifferences from the first and second embodiments.

That is, in the fourth embodiment, the broadcast provider stores thetravel destination information directly in the information storingsection 1301.

First, when the user decides that he will need the broadcasted traveldestination information at a later date, the overall control section 111instructs the broadcast provider 101 via the modem 106 to store thetravel destination information in the information storing section 1301.

At the same time, the overall control section 111 acquires thetelevision terminal ID from the television terminal ID storing section1403, and passes it to the modem 106. The modem 106 then instructs thebroadcast provider 101 to store the television terminal ID in theinformation storing section 1301 together with the travel destinationinformation currently being broadcasted in the program.

The viewer information acquiring section 102 passes this instruction andthe television terminal ID to the communication control section 1401.The communication control section 1401 acquires the in-vehicleinformation terminal ID corresponding to the television terminal ID byreferring to the table section 1402, and also acquires the URL of theinformation storing section 1301 corresponding to the televisionterminal 104 by referring to the URL holding section 1503. Then, thecommunication control section 1401 accesses the Internet by using theURL, and stores the travel destination information to be set into thein-vehicle information terminal in an area in the information storingsection 1301 which is specified by the in-vehicle information terminalID. As in the case of the first and second embodiments, the traveldestination information to be set into the in-vehicle informationterminal is the data script shown in FIG. 4.

As this time, since the broadcast provider 101 knows that the user hasdownloaded the travel destination information, the broadcast provider101 can gather statistics or charge an advertisement fee to thesponsor's bill by using the information concerning the download, as inthe case of the first, second, and third embodiments of the invention.In the present embodiment, since the television terminal ID equivalentto the user ID can be acquired, it is also possible to extract userpreferences by gathering statistics.

Next, when the user actually goes out by car, the overall controlsection 121 acquires the in-vehicle information terminal ID and the URLof the information storing section 1301 from the in-vehicle informationterminal ID storing section 1404, and passes them to the communicationsection 116. The communication section 116 accesses the Internet byusing the URL, and acquires the data script of the travel destinationinformation from the area in the information storing section 1301 whichis specified by the in-vehicle information terminal ID. Thecommunication section 116 passes the acquired data script to the overallcontrol section 121.

Other operations are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment,and therefore, will not be further described here.

Finally, the method of constructing the table section 1402 will bedescribed. For example, first the television terminal ID is implementedinto the television terminal ID storing section 1403 at the time thetelevision terminal 104 is manufactured. Next, when the user purchasesthe television terminal 104, the retailer provides the televisionterminal ID and the customer's personal information such as his addressto the broadcast provider, and the television broadcast provider storesthese pieces of information in the data base.

Likewise, the in-vehicle information terminal ID is implemented into thein-vehicle information terminal ID storing section 1404 at the time thein-vehicle information terminal 114 is manufactured. When the same userpurchases the in-vehicle information terminal 114, the user registersthe in-vehicle information terminal ID and his personal information suchas his address with the service provider that operates the informationstoring section 1301. Then, the service provider provides the in-vehicleinformation terminal ID and the customer's personal information such ashis address to the broadcast provider 101 together with the URL of theinformation storing section 1301.

The broadcast provider 101 searches the data base for the customerhaving the same personal information from the information stored whenthe user purchased the television terminal 104 and, if the same customeris found, the broadcast provider 101 stores the television terminal ID,the in-vehicle information terminal ID, and the URL of the informationstoring section 1301 as a set of information in the table section 1402and the URL holding section 1503.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the table section 1402holds the TV terminal ID and the in-vehicle information terminal ID. Thetelevision terminal ID for identifying the television terminal 104 isappended to the television terminal 104. On the other hand, thein-vehicle information terminal ID for identifying the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114 is appended to the in-vehicle informationterminal 114. The broadcast provider 101 holds in the table section 1402the information for associating the television terminal ID with thein-vehicle information terminal ID. When sending a request to thebroadcast provider 101, the television terminal 104 also sends its owntelevision terminal ID to the broadcast provider 101, and the broadcastprovider 101 pairs the in-vehicle information terminal ID correspondingto the reported television terminal ID with the requested data script byreferring to the associating information held in the table section 1402,and stores the pair in the information storing section 1301, while onthe other hand, the in-vehicle information terminal 114, using its ownin-vehicle information terminal ID, acquires the corresponding datascript from the information storing section 1301.

Alternatively, the table section 1402 may be constructed to hold onlythe TV terminal ID and not hold the in-vehicle information terminal ID.Conversely, the table section 1402 may be constructed to hold only thein-vehicle information terminal ID and not hold the TV terminal ID.

That is, when the table section 1402 is constructed to hold only the TVterminal ID and not hold the in-vehicle information terminal ID, thedata script can be downloaded into the in-vehicle information terminal114 in the following way.

First, when the user decides that he will need the broadcasted traveldestination information at a later date, the overall control section 111instructs the broadcast provider 101 via the modem 106 to store thetravel destination information in the information storing section 1301.

At the same time, the overall control section 111 acquires thetelevision terminal ID from the television terminal ID storing section1403, and passes it to the modem 106. The modem 106 then instructs thebroadcast provider 101 to store the television terminal ID in theinformation storing section 1301 together with the travel destinationinformation currently being broadcasted in the program.

The viewer information acquiring section 102 passes this instruction andthe television terminal ID to the communication control section 1401.The communication control section 1401 acquires the URL of theinformation storing section 1301 corresponding to the televisionterminal 104 by referring to the URL holding section 1503. Then, thecommunication control section 1401 accesses the Internet by using theURL, and stores the travel destination information to be set into thein-vehicle information terminal in the area of the information storingsection 1301 which is specified by the television terminal ID.

Next, when the user actually goes out by car, the overall controlsection 121 acquires the television terminal ID and the URL of theinformation storing section 1301 from the in-vehicle informationterminal ID storing section 1404, and passes them to the communicationsection 116. Here, it is assumed that the television terminal ID and theURL of the information storing section 1301 are stored in advance in thein-vehicle information terminal ID storing section 1404. Thecommunication section 116 accesses the Internet by using the URL, andacquires the data script of the travel destination information from thearea of the information storing section 1301 which is specified by thetelevision terminal ID. The communication section 116 passes theacquired data script to the overall control section 121.

In this way, the television terminal ID for identifying the televisionterminal 104 is appended to the television terminal 104, and whensending a request to the broadcast provider 101, the television terminal104 also sends its own television terminal ID to the broadcast provider101 which then pairs the reported television terminal ID with therequested data script and stores the pair in the information storingsection 1301, while on the other hand, the in-vehicle informationterminal 114, using the television terminal ID input to it, acquires thecorresponding data script from the information storing section 1301.

On the other hand, when the table section 1402 is constructed to holdonly the in-vehicle information terminal ID and not hold the TV terminalID, the data script can be downloaded into the in-vehicle informationterminal 114 in the following way.

First, when the user decides that he will need the broadcasted traveldestination information at a later date, the overall control section 111instructs the broadcast provider 101 via the modem 106 to store thetravel destination information in the information storing section 1301.

At the same time, the overall control section 111 acquires thein-vehicle information terminal ID from the television terminal IDstoring section 1403, and passes it to the modem 106. Here, it isassumed that the in-vehicle information terminal ID is stored inadvance. The modem 106 then instructs the broadcast provider 101 tostore the in-vehicle information terminal ID in the information storingsection 1301 together with the travel destination information currentlybeing broadcasted in the program.

The viewer information acquiring section 102 passes this instruction andthe in-vehicle information terminal ID to the communication controlsection 1401. The communication control section 1401 acquires the URL ofthe information storing section 1301 corresponding to the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114 by referring to the URL holding section 1503.Then, the communication control section 1401 accesses the Internet byusing the URL, and stores the travel destination information to be setinto the in-vehicle information terminal in the area of the informationstoring section 1301 which is specified by the in-vehicle informationterminal ID.

Next, when the user actually goes out by car, the overall controlsection 121 acquires the in-vehicle information terminal ID and the URLof the information storing section 1301 from the in-vehicle informationterminal ID storing section 1404, and passes them to the communicationsection 116. Here, it is assumed that the in-vehicle informationterminal ID and the URL of the information storing section 1301 arestored in advance in the in-vehicle information terminal ID storingsection 1404. The communication section 116 accesses the Internet byusing the URL, and acquires the data script of the travel destinationinformation from the area of the information storing section 1301 whichis specified by the in-vehicle information terminal ID. Thecommunication section 116 passes the acquired data script to the overallcontrol section 121.

In this way, the in-vehicle information terminal ID for identifying thein-vehicle information terminal 114 is appended to the in-vehicleinformation terminal 114, and when sending a request to the broadcastprovider 101, the television terminal 104 also sends the in-vehicleinformation terminal ID input to it to the broadcast provider 101 whichthen pairs the reported in-vehicle information terminal ID with therequested data script and stores the pair in the information storingsection 1301, while on the other hand, the in-vehicle informationterminal 114, using its own in-vehicle information terminal ID, acquiresthe corresponding data script from the information storing section 1301.

Here, the service provider that operates the information storing section1301 may be the same as the broadcast provider. Further, the personalinformation may be constructed from a special number such as a personalID.

The URL of the information storing section 1301 to be held in thein-vehicle information terminal ID storing section 1404 of thein-vehicle information terminal 114 may be implemented at the time thein-vehicle information terminal is manufactured, or may be set at thetime the user purchases the in-vehicle information terminal.

Furthermore, the above-described operation in which the broadcastprovider 101 stores the information in the table section 1402 and theURL holding section 1503 by referring to the data base with the personalinformation as the key can also be performed automatically by usinginformation technology.

As described above, according to the travel destination informationsetting system in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, sincethe travel destination information is acquired from the broadcastedtravel program and set into the in-vehicle information terminal, settingof the destination, acquisition of real-time information, and making ofa reservation can be accomplished without performing cumbersomeoperations. Further, since the user need not use a memory card or aportable terminal in order to access the travel destination informationto be set into the in-vehicle information terminal 114, the operationcan be performed quite naturally. Moreover, the problem of the userlosing or forgetting the memory card or the portable terminal does notoccur. This offers an enormous practical advantage.

In FIG. 14, only one information storing section 1301 is shown, but morethan one information storing section may be provided. Further, theinstallation of the information storing section 1301 is not limited toany particular location, and it may be installed within the broadcastprovider 101 or the television terminal 104, or may be incorporated inthe in-vehicle information terminal 114.

In the above description, the instruction to download the information tobe set into the in-vehicle information terminal 114 is issued while theuser is watching a program broadcast, but instead, the televisionterminal 104 may temporarily store the program broadcast and the databroadcast on the HDD 112, and the download instruction may be issuedwhen the user watches the stored broadcast. In this case, however,though not described in detail here, a program ID must be provided tothe broadcast provider 101 via the modem 106 so that the broadcastprovider 101 can identify the program whose travel destinationinformation is to be stored. This can be accomplished by transmittingthe broadcast data by appending the program ID to it.

In the description of each embodiment of the invention, the traveldestination information is set into the in-vehicle information terminal114, but the information can likewise be set into a portable informationterminal having, for example, a pedestrian navigation function.

Further, each embodiment of the invention has been described by assuminga restaurant as the travel destination, but there are many other places,such as an amusement park, spa, etc., that can be set as the traveldestination, and the destination is therefore not limited to arestaurant. For example, when the travel destination is an amusementpark, the real-time information includes, for example, attractions to beheld in the park, availability of parking space in the parking lot,etc., and the reservation includes, for example, the reservation of aparking space or a stroller, purchase of a ticket, etc. When the traveldestination is a hotel or an inn, the real-time information includes,for example, the availability of rooms, and the reservation includes,for example, the reservation of meals or accommodations or cancellationof accommodations, etc. Further, in the case of a museum or anexhibition hall, the real-time information includes, for example, thedescription of the exhibits, the period of the exhibition, exhibitionseminar schedules, the state of congestion, etc., and the reservationincludes, for example, the purchase of a ticket, reservation for anexhibition seminar, etc.

The present invention includes a program for causing a computer to carryout the functions of all or part of the means (or devices, elements,circuits, blocks, etc.) of the system (apparatus, circuit, etc.) of theinvention described above, wherein the program operates in collaborationwith the computer.

The invention also includes a program for causing a computer to carryout the operations in all or part of the steps (or processes,operations, effects, etc.) of the navigation method of the inventiondescribed above, wherein the program operates in collaboration with thecomputer.

Further, the present invention includes a medium holding thereon aprogram for causing a computer to carry out all or part of the functionsof all or part of the means of the system (apparatus, circuit, etc.) ofthe invention described above, wherein the program readable by thecomputer is read by the computer and carries out the functions incollaboration with the computer.

The invention further includes a medium holding thereon a program forcausing a computer to carry out all or part of the operations in all orpart of the steps of the navigation method of the invention describedabove, wherein the program readable by the computer is read by thecomputer and carries out the operations in collaboration with thecomputer.

Here, part of the means (or devices, elements, circuits, blocks, etc.)of the invention and part of the steps (or processes, operations,effects, etc.) of the invention refer to some of the plurality of meansor steps, or some of the functions or operations in one of the means orsteps.

A computer readable recording medium with the program of the inventionrecorded thereon is also included in the present invention.

In one utilization mode of the program of the invention, the program maybe recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer, and beoperated in collaboration with the computer.

In another utilization mode of the program of the invention, the programmay be transmitted through a transmission medium, be read by a computer,and be operated in collaboration with the computer.

The data structure of the invention includes a data base, data format,data list, data type, etc.

The recording medium includes a ROM or the like, and the transmissionmedium includes a transmission medium such as the Internet, light waves,radio waves, or sound waves.

The computer of the invention described above is not limited to purehardware such as a CPU, but may include firmware, an OS, and even aperipheral device.

As described above, the configuration of the invention may beimplemented in software or in hardware.

The navigational information according to the present invention is notlimited to the travel destination information described in the aboveembodiments, but it also includes, for example, gourmet information fordining out, bargain sale information for going out for shopping, movieinformation for going out to see a movie, and sports information forgoing out to watch a sports game, that is, any information that the usercan use when he goes out. For example, when the navigational informationaccording to the present invention is bargain sale information, a scriptthat holds therein information for displaying the bargain saleinformation should be created instead of the travel destinationinformation data script used in the above embodiments.

The broadcast provider 101 in the above embodiments is an example of afirst system of the present invention, the television terminal 104 inthe above embodiments is an example of a second system of the presentinvention, the in-vehicle information terminal 114 in the aboveembodiments is an example of a third system of the present invention,the television terminal ID in the above embodiments is an example of afirst ID of the present invention, the in-vehicle information terminalID in the above embodiments is an example of a second ID of the presentinvention, the information storing section 1301 in the above embodimentsis an example of an information storing means of the present invention,the portable terminal 1302 in the above embodiments is an example of aportable information processing means of the present invention, thememory card in the above embodiments is an example of a portable memorymeans of the present invention, and each travel destination informationdata script indicated by the <navidata> tag in the above embodiments isan example of navigational information of the present invention.

Examples of the broadcast receiving system (television terminal, etc.)used in the system of the present invention may include the following:

(Example 1) A broadcast receiving system comprising: means of receivinga program and/or an advertisement transmitted from a transmitting entityand navigational information transmitted in addition to the programand/or the advertisement; display means of displaying the program and/orthe advertisement; means of selecting the navigational informationbetween the navigational information and other information such as theprogram received by the receiving means; and means of storing thenavigational information in a portable memory means or a portableinformation processing means.

(Example 2) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 1,further comprising: information storing means; and means of requestingthe transmitting entity of the program and/or the advertisement todownload the navigational information related to the program and/or theadvertisement into the information storing means.

(Example 3) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 1,further comprising means of requesting, in response to a user request,the transmitting entity of the program and/or the advertisement todownload the navigational information related to the program and/or theadvertisement into an external information storing means.

(Example 4) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 2 or 3,wherein the information storing means holds therein: at least either afirst ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user usesor a second ID indicating the navigation terminal that the user uses;and the navigational information requested by the user.

(Example 5) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 2 or 3,wherein the information storing means holds therein: information forassociating a first ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal thatthe user uses with a second ID indicating the navigation terminal thatthe user uses; the second ID obtained based on the associatinginformation as corresponding to the first ID reported from the user; andthe navigational information requested by the user.

(Example 6) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 2 or 3,wherein the information storing means holds therein: information forassociating a first ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal thatthe user uses with a second ID indicating the navigation terminal thatthe user uses; the first ID obtained based on the associatinginformation as corresponding to the second ID reported from the user;and the navigational information requested by the user.

(Example 7) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 2 or 3,wherein when requesting the transmitting entity to download thenavigational information into the information storing means, an IDindicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user uses isreported to the transmitting entity.

(Example 8) A broadcast receiving system as described in example 2 or 3,wherein when requesting the transmitting entity to download thenavigational information into the information storing means, an IDindicating the navigation terminal that the user uses is reported to thetransmitting entity.

Examples of the navigation system (navigation terminal, etc.) used inthe system of the present invention may include the following:

(Example 1) A navigation system comprising: memory means; display means;information storing means; input means of acquiring from a portableinformation processing means the address of the information storingmeans in which the portable information processing means storesnavigational information; and communication means of acquiring thenavigational information from the information storing means by accessingthe address, wherein the navigational information acquired via thecommunication means is stored in the memory means, and a navigationdisplay based on the navigational information stored in the memory meansis produced by the display means.

(Example 2) A navigation system as described in example 1, wherein theinformation storing means holds therein: at least either a first IDindicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user uses or asecond ID indicating the navigation terminal that the user uses; and thenavigational information requested by the user.

(Example 3) A navigation system as described in example 1, wherein theinformation storing means holds therein: information for associating afirst ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user useswith a second ID indicating the navigation terminal that the user uses;the second ID obtained based on the associating information ascorresponding to the first ID reported from the user; and thenavigational information requested by the user.

(Example 4) A navigation system as described in example 1, wherein theinformation storing means holds therein: information for associating afirst ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user useswith a second ID indicating the navigation terminal that the user uses;the first ID obtained based on the associating information ascorresponding to the second ID reported from the user; and thenavigational information requested by the user.

(Example 5) A navigation system as described in each of examples 2, 3,and 4, wherein when making an access to the information storing means,an ID indicating the broadcast receiving terminal that the user uses isreported to the information storing means.

(Example 6) A navigation system as described in each of examples 2, 3,and 4, wherein when making an access to the information storing means,an ID indicating the navigation terminal that the user uses is reportedto the information storing means.

As described above, according to the travel destination informationsetting system in each of the above embodiments, since the traveldestination information is downloaded as electronic data, the traveldestination information can be set into the in-vehicle informationterminal without the user having to make a memo of the traveldestination information broadcasted in a program. This eliminates theneed for the user to make settings on the in-vehicle informationterminal by looking at a handwritten memo, and greatly saves the userthe trouble of going through cumbersome operations. Further, since eachof the above embodiments includes information storing means, and thetravel destination information is acquired by connecting to theinformation storing means, the travel destination information can beprevented from being lost somewhere. This offers an enormous practicaladvantage.

As is apparent from the above description, the present inventionprovides a travel destination information setting system that can savethe user a lot of trouble by eliminating the need to manually re-enterthe navigational information acquired from a broadcast when the useractually goes out, and also provides a system, a navigation method, amedium, and a program for such a system.

Further, the present invention provides a travel destination informationsetting system that can prevent the navigational information from beinginput erroneously or being lost somewhere, by eliminating the need tomanually re-enter the navigational information acquired from a broadcastwhen the user actually goes out, and also provides a system, anavigation method, a medium, and a program for such a system.

1. An apparatus comprising: a first system which broadcasts navigationalinformation in relation to a program and/or an advertisement, and atleast one of the program and the advertisement, and information storingmeans, which holds: a first ID for identifying a second system thatreceives a broadcast and displays the navigational information on afirst display, wherein a user selects at least a portion of thenavigational information displayed on the first display; and a second IDfor identifying a third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays the user selected navigation information on a second display.2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third system isconfigured to be physically moved from one location to another.
 3. Anapparatus comprising: a first system which broadcasts navigationalinformation in relation to a program and/or an advertisement, and atleast one of the program and the advertisement, wherein said firstsystem comprises means of having an external information storing meanshold therein: a first ID for identifying a second system that receives abroadcast and displays the navigational information on a first display,wherein a user selects at least a portion of the navigationalinformation displayed on the first display; and a second ID foridentifying a third system, remote from the second system, that displaysthe user selected navigation information on a second display.
 4. Anapparatus comprising: a first system which broadcasts navigationalinformation in relation to a program and/or an advertisement, and atleast one of the program and the advertisement, comprising aninformation storing means, which holds: information for associating afirst ID for identifying a second system that receives a broadcast witha second ID for identifying a third system, remote from the secondsystem, that displays the navigation information, wherein the secondsystem displays the navigational information on a first display, thethird system displays the navigational information on a second displayand a user selects at least a portion of the navigational informationdisplayed on the first display and the second display; and said secondID obtained from said associating information as corresponding to saidfirst ID reported from the user.
 5. An apparatus comprising: a firstsystem which broadcasts navigational information in relation to aprogram and/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program and theadvertisement, wherein said first system comprises means of having anexternal information storing means hold therein: information forassociating a first ID for identifying a second system that receives abroadcast with a second ID for identifying a third system, remote fromthe second system, that displays the navigation information, wherein thesecond system displays the navigational information on a first display,the third system displays the navigational information on a seconddisplay and a user selects at least a portion of the navigationalinformation displayed on the first display and the second display; andsaid second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from the user.
 6. An apparatuscomprising: a first system which broadcasts navigational information inrelation to a program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of theprogram and the advertisement, wherein said first system comprises meansof having an external information storing means hold therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying a thirdsystem, remote from the second system, that displays the navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display and a user selects at leasta portion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the second display; and said first ID obtained from said associatinginformation as corresponding to said second ID reported from the user.7. An apparatus comprising: a first system including an informationstoring means; a second system comprising means of receiving a broadcastfrom said first system broadcasting navigational information in relationto a program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of the programand the advertisement, and of having portable memory means storingtherein said navigational information contained in said receivedbroadcast; said second system comprises means of requesting, in responseto a request from a user, said first system to download saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into said information storing means; and said informationstoring means holds therein: at least either a first ID for identifyingsaid second system that receives a broadcast or a second ID foridentifying a third system that displays navigation information; andsaid navigational information requested by said user.
 8. An apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the user selects a portion of thenavigational information displayed at the first system; the portablememory means is configured to be (1) temporarily coupled to the secondsystem for storing the user selected portion of the navigationalinformation, (2) then removed from the second system and (3) temporarilycoupled to a third system for transferring the user selected portion ofthe navigation information to the third system; and the third system isconfigured to be physically moved from one location to another.
 9. Anapparatus comprising: a first system including an information storingmeans; a second system comprising means of receiving a broadcast fromsaid first system, said broadcast including broadcasting navigationalinformation in relation to a program and/or an advertisement, and atleast one of the program and the advertisement, and of outputting saidnavigational information contained in said received broadcast to aportable information processing means; said second system comprisesmeans of requesting, in response to a request from a user, said firstsystem to download said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement into said information storing means; andwherein said information storing means holds therein: a first ID foridentifying said second system that receives a broadcast and displaysthe navigational information on a first display, wherein the userselects at least a portion of the navigational information displayed onthe first display; and a second ID for identifying a third system,remote from the second system, that displays the user selectednavigation information, processed by the portable information processingmeans on a second display.
 10. An apparatus comprising: a first systemincluding an information storing means; a second system comprising meansof receiving a broadcast from said first system, said broadcastincluding broadcasting navigational information in relation to a programand/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program and theadvertisement, and of presenting said program and/or said advertisementto a user and, in response to a request from said user, transferringsaid navigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement to portable memory means for storing therein; said secondsystem comprises means of requesting, in response to a request from auser, said first system to download said navigational informationrelated to said program and/or said advertisement into said informationstoring means; and wherein said information storing means holds therein:a first ID for identifying said second system that receives a broadcastand displays the navigational information on a first display, whereinthe user selects at least a portion of the navigational informationdisplayed on the first display; and a second ID for identifying a thirdsystem, remote from the second system, that displays the user selectednavigation information stored in the portable memory means on a seconddisplay.
 11. An apparatus comprising: a first system including aninformation storing means; a second system comprising means of receivinga broadcast from said first system, said broadcast includingbroadcasting navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, and at least one of the program and the advertisement,and of presenting said program and/or said advertisement to a user and,in response to a request from said user, outputting said navigationalinformation related to said program and/or said advertisement toportable information processing means; said second system comprisesmeans of requesting, in response to a request from a user, said firstsystem to download said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement into said information storing means; andwherein said information storing means holds therein: a first ID foridentifying said second system that receives a broadcast and displaysthe navigational information on a first display, wherein the userselects at least a portion of the navigational information displayed onthe first display; and a second ID, remote from the second system, foridentifying a third system that displays the user selected navigationinformation, processed by the portable information processing means, ona second display.
 12. An apparatus comprising: a third system including:input means of acquiring navigational information in relation to aprogram and/or an advertisement from portable storing means in whichsaid navigational information is stored, via portable informationprocessing means which acquires at least said navigational information,and display means of producing a second navigation display based on saidnavigational information acquired from said input means; wherein a firstsystem includes information storing means which holds therein: a firstID for identifying a second system that receives a broadcast anddisplays the navigational information on a first navigation display,wherein a user selects at least a portion of the navigationalinformation displayed on the first navigation display; and a second IDfor identifying said third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays the user selected navigation information, stored in theportable storing means, on the second navigation display.
 13. Anapparatus comprising: a third system including: input means of acquiringan address of information storing means in which navigationalinformation in relation to a program and/or an advertisement is stored,from a portable information processing means where said address is held,and display means of producing a second navigation display by acquiringsaid navigational information by accessing information storing means ofa first system based on said address acquired from said input means;wherein said information storing means holds therein: a first ID foridentifying a second system that receives a broadcast and displays thenavigational information on a first navigation display, wherein a userselects at least a portion of the navigational information displayed onthe first navigation display; and a second ID, remote from the secondsystem, for identifying said third system that displays the userselected navigation information acquired via the portable informationprocessing means, on the second navigation display.
 14. An apparatuscomprising: a second system comprising: means of receiving a broadcastfrom a first system broadcasting navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program andthe advertisement, and of having portable memory means storing thereinsaid navigational information contained in said received broadcast; andmeans of requesting, in response to a request from a user, said firstsystem to download said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement into an external information storing means;wherein said external information storing means holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, the user selects at leasta portion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,stored in the portable memory means, on the second display; and saidsecond ID obtained from said associating information as corresponding tosaid first ID reported from said user.
 15. An apparatus comprising: asecond system comprising: means of receiving a broadcast from a firstsystem broadcasting navigational information in relation to a programand/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program and theadvertisement, and of outputting said navigational information containedin said received broadcast to a portable information processing means;means of requesting, in response to a request from a user, said firstsystem to download said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement into an external information storing means;wherein said external information storing means holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, the user selects at leasta portion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,via the portable information processing means, on the second display;and said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from said user.
 16. An apparatuscomprising: a second system comprising: means of receiving a broadcastfrom a first system broadcasting navigational information in relation toa program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program andthe advertisement, and of presenting said program and/or saidadvertisement to a user and, in response to a request from said user,transferring said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement to portable memory means for storing therein;means of requesting, in response to a request from a user, said firstsystem to download said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement into an external information storing means;wherein said external information storing means holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, the user selects at leasta portion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,stored in said portable memory means, on the second display; and saidsecond ID obtained from said associating information as corresponding tosaid first ID reported from said user.
 17. An apparatus comprising: asecond system comprising: means of receiving a broadcast from a firstsystem broadcasting navigational information in relation to a programand/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program and theadvertisement, and of presenting said program and/or said advertisementto a user and, in response to a request from said user, outputting saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement to portable information processing means; means ofrequesting, in response to a request from a user, said first system todownload said navigational information related to said program and/orsaid advertisement into an external information storing means; whereinsaid external information storing means holds therein: information forassociating a first ID for identifying said second system that receivesa broadcast with a second ID for identifying a third system, remote fromthe second system, that displays navigation information, wherein thesecond system displays the navigational information on a first display,the third system displays the navigational information on a seconddisplay, the user selects at least a portion of the navigationalinformation displayed on the first display and the third system displaysthe user selected navigation information, via the portable informationprocessing means, on the second display; and said second ID obtainedfrom said associating information as corresponding to said first IDreported from said user.
 18. An apparatus comprising: a first systemincluding an information storing means; and a second system comprising:means of receiving a broadcast from a first system broadcastingnavigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement, and at least one of the program and the advertisement,and of having portable memory means storing therein said navigationalinformation contained in said received broadcast, wherein; means ofrequesting, in response to a request from a user, said first system todownload said navigational information related to said program and/orsaid advertisement into said information storing means; and saidinformation storing means holds therein: information for associating afirst ID for identifying said second system that receives a broadcastwith a second ID for identifying a third system, remote from the secondsystem, that displays navigation information, wherein the second systemdisplays the navigational information on a first display, the thirdsystem displays the navigational information on a second display, theuser selects at least a portion of the navigational informationdisplayed on the first display and the third system displays the userselected navigation information, stored in the portable memory means, onthe second display; and said first ID obtained from said associatinginformation as corresponding to said second ID reported from said user.19. An apparatus comprising: a first system including an informationstoring means; and a second system comprising: means of receiving abroadcast from a first system broadcasting navigational information inrelation to a program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of theprogram and the advertisement, and of outputting said navigationalinformation contained in said received broadcast to a portableinformation processing means, wherein; means of requesting, in responseto a request from a user, said first system to download saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into said information storing means; and said informationstoring means holds therein: information for associating a first ID foridentifying said second system that receives a broadcast with a secondID for identifying a third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays navigation information, wherein the second system displays thenavigational information on a first display, the third system displaysthe navigational information on a second display, the user selects atleast a portion of the navigational information displayed on the firstdisplay and the third system displays the user selected navigationinformation, via the portable information processing means, on thesecond display; and said first ID obtained from said associatinginformation as corresponding to said second ID reported from said user.20. An apparatus comprising: a first system including an informationstoring means; a second system comprising: means of receiving abroadcast from a first system broadcasting navigational information inrelation to a program and/or an advertisement, and at least one of theprogram and the advertisement, and of presenting said program and/orsaid advertisement to a user and, in response to a request from saiduser, transferring said navigational information related to said programand/or said advertisement to portable memory means for storing therein,wherein; said second system comprises means of requesting, in responseto a request from a user, said first system to download saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement into said information storing means; and said informationstoring means holds therein: information for associating a first ID foridentifying said second system that receives a broadcast with a secondID for identifying a third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays navigation information, wherein the second system displays thenavigational information on a first display, the third system displaysthe navigational information on a second display, the user selects atleast a portion of the navigational information displayed on the firstdisplay and the third system displays the user selected navigationinformation, stored in the portable memory means, on the second display;said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from said user.
 21. Anapparatus comprising: a first system including an information storingmeans; a second system comprising: means of receiving a broadcast from afirst system broadcasting navigational information in relation to aprogram and/or an advertisement, and at least one of the program and theadvertisement, and of presenting said program and/or said advertisementto a user and, in response to a request from said user, outputting saidnavigational information related to said program and/or saidadvertisement to portable information processing means, wherein; saidsecond system comprises means of requesting, in response to a requestfrom a user, said first system to download said navigational informationrelated to said program and/or said advertisement into said informationstoring means; and said information storing means holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying said secondsystem that receives a broadcast with a second ID for identifying athird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, the user selects at leasta portion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,via the portable information processing means, on the second display;and said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from said user.
 22. Anapparatus comprising: a third system comprising: input means ofacquiring navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement from portable storing means in which said navigationalinformation is stored, via portable information processing means whichacquires at least said navigational information, and display means ofproducing a navigation display based on said navigational informationacquired from said input means; wherein a first system includesinformation storing means which holds therein: information forassociating a first ID for identifying a second system that receives,from the first system, a broadcast with a second ID for identifying saidthird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, a user selects at least aportion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,via the portable information processing means, on the second display;and said second ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said first ID reported from the user.
 23. An apparatuscomprising: a third system comprising: input means of acquiring anaddress of information storing means in which navigational informationin relation to a program and/or an advertisement is stored, from aportable information processing means where said address is held, anddisplay means of producing a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information by accessing said information storing meansbased on said address acquired from said input means; wherein a firstsystem includes information storing means which holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives, from the first system, a broadcast with a second ID foridentifying said third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays navigation information, wherein the second system displays thenavigational information on a first display, the third system displaysthe navigational information on a second display, a user selects atleast a portion of the navigational information displayed on the firstdisplay and the third system displays the user selected navigationinformation, via the portable information processing means, on thesecond display; and said second ID obtained from said associatinginformation as corresponding to said first ID reported from the user.24. An apparatus comprising: a third system comprising: input means ofacquiring navigational information in relation to a program and/or anadvertisement from portable storing means in which said navigationalinformation is stored, via portable information processing means whichacquires at least said navigational information, and display means ofproducing a navigation display based on said navigational informationacquired from said input means; wherein a first system includesinformation storing means which holds therein: information forassociating a first ID for identifying a second system that receives,from the first system, a broadcast with a second ID for identifying saidthird system, remote from the second system, that displays navigationinformation, wherein the second system displays the navigationalinformation on a first display, the third system displays thenavigational information on a second display, a user selects at least aportion of the navigational information displayed on the first displayand the third system displays the user selected navigation information,via the portable information processing means, on the second display;and said first ID obtained from said associating information ascorresponding to said second ID reported from the user.
 25. An apparatuscomprising: a third system comprising: input means of acquiring anaddress of information storing means in which navigational informationin relation to a program and/or an advertisement is stored, from aportable information processing means where said address is held, anddisplay means of producing a navigation display by acquiring saidnavigational information by accessing said information storing meansbased on said address acquired from said input means; wherein a firstsystem includes information storing means which holds therein:information for associating a first ID for identifying a second systemthat receives, from the first system, a broadcast with a second ID foridentifying said third system, remote from the second system, thatdisplays navigation information, wherein the second system displays thenavigational information on a first display, the third system displaysthe navigational information on a second display, a user selects atleast a portion of the navigational information displayed on the firstdisplay and the third system displays the user selected navigationinformation, via the portable information processing means, on thesecond display; and said first ID obtained from said associatinginformation as corresponding to said second ID reported from the user.